Service migration is a possible approach for a class of Internet services to deal with the increasing frequency of denial-of-service (DoS) attacks. The basic idea is to entitle services to physically relocate to a different host after detecting an attack or as a preventive action. We examine the implications of this approach within the context of an automated and high-frequency English auction system, which can be particularly sensitive to degrading communications performance. The impact of the attack and the migration response are investigated in terms of the diminishing utility attainable by auctioneers, giving insight into the advantages and disadvantages of the migration approach as DoS defense. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.